It seemed like a normal day. Any normal, ordinary, happy-go-lucky day in Maretime Bay. That was what a certain yellow earth pony was trying to tell herself the moment she rose from her bed, like the very flowers that were opening their petals to embrace the sunshine that was flooding into Posey Bloom’s window. She lay there, wiping the sleep from her eyes and lying still as she wondered what her day will bring.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing was going to make this day bad. This was going to be her day to shine. No pony will hear her open remarks, Hitch won’t get a box-load of complaints from her specifically and she will come home with a clean mane and shiny coat.
The very moment her eyes opened, they instantly got blinded by the sunlight. She instantly closed them and slowly opened them again. Lifting her head from the bed, she noticed that her bedroom room windows were devoid of any curtains. Squinting her eyes some more, she noticed that there was also some sort of stain on the walls. Lots and lots of stains splattered on the wall like something that would be classed as a piece of artwork at Maretime Bay’s museum.
It was then that she noticed that her bed covers weren’t the same as the ones she slept under the night before. Something was definitely off.
“How did my window not have any… oh.”
The previous morning
It was a beautiful day in Maretime Bay. The seagulls were chirping and ponies were rising to start the morning. Just out of town, in a house with flowers blooming in the front garden, a certain pony was doing the exact same thing.
Posey Bloom woke up with a yawn and a good stretch. Yes, she was feeling good today. Nothing will stop her from having a normal day in the seaside town that was Maretime Bay. Looking towards her window, she saw the sun was trying to make itself known. The streaks of sunlight were shining through the curtains as if the celestial body was beckoning her out.
It was then that a thought occurred to Posey Bloom. Everypony loves opening the curtains and swinging the window open. Everypony loves to breathe in the fresh, crisp morning sea air. So, what’s stopping her from doing the same?
Getting out of bed and placing the covers back to how she liked them, she trotted over to the window and flung the curtains open. With a hoof to the window, she opened it, breathed in and sighed in contentment as the morning air worked its magic of washing away the last traces of sleep from her.
Closing her eyes, she smiled as she felt the sun's warmth on her coat.
Yes, this was going to be a good morn-
“Look out!”
Snapping her eyes open, her jaw dropped to the windowsill as she saw a certain light purple pegasus come flying towards her, a cartload of fruits behind her.
“No, no, no, no! Break, break, break!” Posey waved her hooves in the air frantically as she tried to redirect the pegasus away from her bedroom window. However, the delivery pegasus didn’t have the power to steer away from her.
With no other option, all Posey could do was duck and cover her head with her forelegs as the pegasus came crashing in, an array of fruits flew in all directions and stained her favourite curtains and walls.
Posey shuddered at the mess that pegasus left behind. That was her first complaint to Hitch’s office that day. How delivery pegasi always fly too low! Fifi was lucky that nothing was broken apart from the fruit that was supposed to be delivered to Sunny’s smoothie stall.
“It wouldn’t hurt to fly higher! Zipp managed to help pegasi fly with the brief flying school, but they are going to need much longer training. Fifi is just doing her job, but for Maretime Bay’s sake, can’t she and all pegasi just be more careful? Fifi, Windy and those random guards that turn up out of nowhere should follow Hitch’s new rules regarding flight safety. He got the rules out after my complaint the day some pegasus ploughed through my flowerbed!”
It was then that she realised that she was venting like she normally did when something puts her off her perfect day.
“No, no. Bad Posey. That was yesterday. This is today. Let’s focus and the here and now and forget that,” Posey told herself, “Nothing will get in your way of a good day.”
She got herself to the kitchen and opened the cupboard, popped open the coffee tin to find not a single grain of coffee or packet of bread in her cupboard. All she had was a near-empty bag of cereal and a quarter-bottle of milk in the fridge.
Posey rubbed her head as the memories flooded back to her again.
Shopping! Everypony likes to shop! Shopping is one of Posey’s favourite things to do. There’s nothing like going into town, smiling and waving to everypony you meet and getting what you need at the same time. She just got her favourite shampoos from Mane Melody and booked her next hoof treatment and right now she was carrying a shopping bag full of supplies to last her till next week.
Right now she was happily singing a tune in her head down Mane Street when her ears twitched at an unfamiliar sound. She stopped in the middle of the street, her ears turning at different angles to understand where the noise was coming from and what exactly it was. There was definitely a horn being honked, and the unmistakable sound of tyres on the concrete. It seemed that it was getting closer and closer to her.
And coming directly behind her.
Turning her full body quickly, her pupils shrunk to pinpricks at what was speeding towards her. Izzy Moonbow, the resident unicorn of the Crystal Brighthouse, was coming towards her on her new motorcycle. She recently opened up a business, helping repair and fix things for everypony in Maretime Bay with her Izzy Does It motorcycle. Posey would often find the strange unicorn with her imaginary unicorn friend, Señor Butterscotch, who was made up of an assortment of trash from Izzy's dumpster diving.
This, however, wasn’t going to fix Posey’s day.
“Out of the way, Posey! Izzy’s got some stuff that needs fixing!” The Unicorn shouted.
“Oh, for Olden Equestria’s sake!” Posey shook her head rapidly. She flung her bag of groceries in the air and dived out of the way, right into a trashcan of all things. Izzy hit the brakes hard with a hoof and came to a screeching halt. Reversing to where poor Posey was, Izzy looked at the sight with a sorry look and a sheepish smile.
“Oh, heh, heh. Sorry there Posey. You okay under there?”
A long, hard groan escaped from under the pile of trash. It was then that Izzy spotted a discarded ruler and a couple of buttons among the pile of rubbish.
“Posey, you are a genius! I needed a new ruler and buttons! Thanks, you’re the best!” Izzy gave a toot of her horn and zoomed off.
“You’re… Most… Welcome…” Posey rose from the trash and saw Izzy turn a corner, leaving a trail of dust behind her. She saw her shopping, a sorrowful mess on the roadside.
“That was my second complaint that day,” Posey sighed as the memories flooded back to her, “To have a designated pedestrian road and another for new vehicles. I mean we have the town’s tramcar, but something for the new chariot taxis and Izzy’s crazy motorbike would also really help.”
After a plain bowl of cereal, she decided to wash away her worries with a nice hot morning shower. The feeling of warm water droplets trickling down a pony’s coat, no matter what race, helps everypony in releasing the stress and traumas of any day.
Walking up the stairs, she made a beeline to the bathroom, took out some towels and turned the faucet of the shower on. She hopped in, only to hop back out when the water was ice cold. She stood there in the middle of the bathroom, a pool of water forming underneath her. Shivering like a leaf on a bare twig, she heard her phone vibrate with a notification. Wiping off the cold water with her towel, she trotted to her bedroom and switched to the news bulletin.
Her phone displayed the normal things going on around the town. Pipp was releasing a new beauty product and the timetable of the tramcar was published. However, there was one particular headline that caught Posey’s attention. Her eyes narrowed as she double-tapped the message to enlarge it.
DUE TO EARTH PONY MAGIC, VINES HAVE CAUSED A WATER BLOCKAGE TO THE MAIN WATER PIPE. REPAIRS ARE UNDERWAY TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING.
- SHERIFF HITCH TRAILBLAZER
She lifted her head from the latest news to enter her phone.
“And there’s a new complaint for the day,” Posey said dryly, “Earth pony magic should be practised in Sunny Starscout’s new garden only.”
Posey stared back down at the screen. A twitch had developed in one of her eyes. Her hoof met her face. Placing said hoof to her chest, Posey breathed in, breathed out and headed downstairs and faced the front door.
She stared at the door and the world outside it. What today will bring, she will never know unless she stepped outside and took that first step. What chaos will ensue, what troubles she will find herself in will be beyond her control. Whatever happens, she is just a regular earth pony in Maretime Bay. A normal pony, in a town that miraculously restored magic, reunited all three pony tribes and has to contend with pegasi flying haphazardly in the air and the odd case of wild earth pony magic. She was just part of things that were beyond her control. Today will be beyond her control as well. So what’s stopping her from just embracing the chaos of this new age?
It's just like what Hitch says when doing his morning rounds.
“Just an ordinary day in Maretim Bay,” Posey sighed.
With that, she opened the front door, took a deep breath and placed her hoof outside.
A random pineapple fell from the sky and landed in front of her with a splat. It stained her hooves, making them a darker yellow than when she was inside her house.
“Sorry!” Came a voice from above. Posey looked up to see Fifi again. This time, she was flying much higher than that fatal day.
Posey just looked forward at the path straight ahead, a content smile on her face.
“Yep, this is Maretime Bay for you.”
With a spring in her hoofsteps, she trotted her way down the path towards the town.
What the day will bring, no pony knows. However, one thing’s for certain.
Expect the unexpected in the little town down by the seaside where magic was restored and all ponies were reunited.
“Welcome to Maretime Bay,” Posey smiled as she whistled a tune as she trotted down the path to that very town she called home.